Conquering the Wild- A Clean Lynx TF
tfw when you go on a cold winter walk and become a kitty
Tiffany's face was flayed raw from the cold already, just a minute after parking her car and leaving its warm embrace. Why had she gone hiking at this time of the year? Because you're dying of boredom and haven't exercised in weeks, she reminded herself. Like clockwork, whenever the weather took a turn for the frigid, she stopped her walks and workouts, and by the spring, she could barely walk up a hill without collapsing. This year she wanted to change that. This year, she would conquer the cold and stay in peak condition.
A giggle reached their ears a mere second before a child rushed by on a scooter right where she'd been standing a second ago. "Watch where you're going!" Their father yelled, waving their child's jacket around like a flag.
She opted to ignore him despite the prickling anxiety at her neck, but noted he was going to the main trail, the well paved one which was always crowded with dog walkers and families. He shouted at her again. Tiffany darted onto the other trail, the dirt one she hadn't used in years. It would be something new, and she would get to avoid the angry father, at least. Three minutes later she was immersed in wilderness and regretting her choice.
I forgot how much I hated this trail. She had done it some years ago, when she was still in college; she hadn't been able to sit properly for days. It was dangerous too: people kept going missing here and reappearing days later. Last week she'd read an article about one such unfortunate who was missing for a month. They had looked wild, as if the trail had sunk its claws into them and wouldn't let go. Tiffany looked over her shoulder and fiddled with her hat. Should she turn back? No. I will conquer this place. She marched forth, scratching her cheeks. They felt as if her determination had warmed them. She didn't note the rough hair growing from them, to shield her face from the chilly winds, even as it got caught up in her scarf.
Her confidence soon faded. It was an overcast day and over the next half hour it grew darker to mark the late afternoon. In the untended woods she walked through, the thick trees left little room for light to highlight the packed dirt of the trail. Would she have to give up? Turning her back on the challenge in front of her brought an ache to her heart. But if she had to do it for her safety...
She blinked. In that blink, the brown ring at the centre of her iris swelled, swallowing the blue. With another blink, the colour turned softer, leaning amber. She blinked one last time. Her slit yellow-green eyes pierced the darkness, letting her continue on with ease. She scratched the white fur rim at the bottom of her left eye, unable to feel the hairs through her thick gloves.
The clouds sank into mist, one that Tiffany's eyes penetrated with ease. Which was good; leaving her goal now seemed unthinkable, even if her breath was puffing in front of her and snowflakes fell softly from the sky. She watched each one fall to their resting place, where they stayed stuck. By tonight, the snow would be dense, especially on top of the hill she was climbing up.
Trail stretched in front of her forever, punctuated by sharp rocks edging it. The forest faded, leaving only wind-bent pines which seemed to her as if they could fall at any moment. Her heart pounded. Even in bad weather, she knew the top view was beautiful, the perfect reward for rising to the challenge. It was just that she couldn't stop panting.
"Dammit." Her lips were stiff in the cold, but also because the very beginning of a snout was stretching them out of place. Her legs ached like she had done a dozen sets of squats; she knew she should've exercised more before trying this. Tiffany gritted her teeth and forced herself to put one foot in front of the other; if she could hike all summer, she could do it in winter. All she needed to do was persevere.
The next change hid beneath her clothes; onlookers would see nothing of the long grizzled hairs growing on her legs, or the way her ankle pulled ever so slightly upwards. Yet while the change was invisible, its effects weren't. She sped up, legs a burning mess no more. There was just one problem; her feet felt a bit tight in the shoes. Without thinking, Tiffany tore them off and slipped her socks off, too.
Cold! Yelping, she danced about on the frozen earth on her tiptoes as her legs flowed with fur in a reaction to the cold, her feet quickly pulling long so she could stand on her thickened, fluffy toes. She sighed in relief as paw pads grew in, making her feet not only warm, but insulated from any sharp twigs or rocks on the trail ground. She ran to make sure the cold wouldn't nip at her again.
The steep trail ran past her, not the roots gnawing at the trail edges stopping her now. One of her gloves slipped off on a stray branch- she didn't register her hand puffing up into a fluffy paw that revealed long claws whenever she flexed her digits.
Panting only lightly, Tiffany reached the peak. The view really was gorgeous; the sun might be hiding but the stark, snowy mountains and the deep blue lake below were not. A bird flew over the valley, swooping down. Her ears lengthened to hear its distant cry, the cry of a red-tailed hawk. She shrugged off her hat; her ears were perfectly warm as they were. After a moment of consideration, she slipped off her coat too. The walk had made her warm, too warm for a coat even as the snow fell.
There was just one thing. Her stomach whined like a neglected puppy; she was ravenous, and she hadn't thought to bring any lunch! Tiffany hissed in displeasure, sniffing the air. Her nose wrinkled and melded into her enlarged snout, a few whiskers popping from the lightly furred skin around it. She hunched over. Would she have to leave already? Even at the top, her hike so far didn't feel like enough.
Wait. The smells in her nose were mostly those of the soft snow and the pine sap, but intertwined with that was a good, rich smell that made her mouth water. She licked her lips and sharp fangs, ears zeroing in. The food was small, and it was getting away quickly.
Tiffany knew what to do. She gave chase on two legs at first, then on four, prying the glove off her remaining hand. Her four paws were fast, but not as fast as they could be; her elbows pushed upwards and her forearms lengthened until her large, fluffy paws were just the crowning jewels of lean, strong limbs. Hissing at the clothes constricting her, she scratched them off with sharp claws until they slipped off, each slash revealing thick fur. Her tail bobbed in the air as the lynx ran, totally focused on the rabbit they were pursuing. This was her forest, and she could conquer any challenge it held.